Laura Ford: Actual, Factual Fables

The highly inventive figures and animal forms of Welsh born sculptor Laura Ford have been the focus of widespread critical acclaim across the United Kingdom, and increasingly, throughout Europe. Utilizing a wide variety of materials and found objects, Ford provided creatures which initially disarmed or charmed the viewer with humor and warmth, but are ultimately poignant reminders of the frailties of human condition or the inequities of social order. The use of animal imagery to illustrate human circumstances called to mind traditions ranging from Aesop to Beatrix Potter, yet the realization of form and the power of message conveyed is decidedly contemporary. This was the sculptor’s first solo exhibition in the United States. This exhibition was organized by Galerie Scheffel, Bad Homburg, Germany in cooperation with the artist and Meijer Gardens.